Home Featured ,,,,, We have waited a long time for it, about three years, but the update of the new MacBook Air 2018 has finally arrived and it is here, even if with a few days delay on the actual release, in our hands. One of the most iconic computers of the apple has returned to the glories of the launch, albeit now in a slightly different market segment, but it remains a fundamental product in a market undergoing profound change.
The MacBook Air on the street has made a lot of it since that launch “inside the envelope” that still makes school; after all, the world, IT and otherwise, is very different from ten years ago, however the MacBook remains for the rest of us, even considering the presence of that other MacBook, which for about a month has perhaps entered into a crisis of identity: product specifications (almost) for everyone, price enormously higher than that of the market.
So let's take a look at this new-old friend, to understand how it fits into the context of the Apple system and how it proposes itself to the world and, above all, how it does and what needs it tries to meet.
MacBook Air 2018, the review
First contact
The opening of the box does not reserve any particular surprises: Apple's minimalism is consolidated and evident, given that we find the Mac, the power supply and the cable that now, like the Pro models, acts as a charging cable and also as a data cable in the presence of another Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C device.
In addition to this a small envelope with the classic sheets that meet the legal issues and the first instructions.
Once placed on the desk we immediately admire the characteristic features of this version: the model we tested is the one in Sidereal Gray, which with the Silver color joins the MacBook Pro, while the new color that Apple calls Gold peeps out, but which to us it seemed closer to a peach pink (even if the perception depends on the light that surrounds you). Admired at the presentation, this last color for the writer is undoubtedly the most beautiful and the one that best characterizes the model: perhaps a little feminine and not hi-tech, it is true, but certainly trendy with its breath of freshness and Announcements.
The opening immediately shows the excellent construction precision: the upper part is opened with a finger, while the lower part remains firmly anchored to the table without the need to hold it back: the thickness is really low (1.56 cm when closed, 0.41 from open) as the weight (1.25 kg), although in both cases it is higher data than those of the MacBook 12 ″ Retina, which remains the lightest computer of all, albeit with a smaller display.
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Closed the MacBook Air is very thin 
The screen of the new MacBook Air 
Image highlighting the thickness 
Seen in profile 
The MacBook Air 2018 keyboard in the foreground 
The analog audio port
The aesthetic differences with previous generations, color aside, are not immediately noticeable because the wedge profile remains, which widens in the part of the display hinges. But even an inexperienced eye finds the news after a few seconds: when closed you immediately notice the absence of the bright apple (a long time ago goodbye) and the two new Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C connectors, both uncomfortably placed both on the left. . Apple explains that putting the connectors on both sides would have required a different, more expensive motherboard. On the opposite side is the jack instead.
From open the question is completely different: the MacBook Air 2018 does not look at all like the old models: the display has changed, now retina, the joint with the case has changed, with much thinner and black edges, the keyboard has changed and it has been introduced the Touch ID.
Compared to the old model, the new 2018 MacBook Air has an equally large display, but with four times the pixels and a smaller total size (due to the smaller edges). It also weighs about a pound less.
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The box and with the MacBook Air 2018 
The thickest part 
Excellent trackpad 
The back of the MacBook Air 2018 
The cover of the MacBook Air 2018 is perfectly balanced 
Close-up on the keyboard
What is now and what is gone
The comparison with the old MacBook Air is normal, but technically not feasible. The two machines are very different taking into consideration the technical specifications.
The display is now retina, capable of offering good color coverage (95% of the sRGB space) even if different from the Wide color gamut (P3) of the MacBook Pro, in comparison with which it also proves to be slightly less bright (300 nits against 500 del pro).
What you notice immediately is also the lack of the TrueTone function, a system that adapts the color temperature of the display according to the external environment.
Touch ID is also very convenient in third-party apps, here on 1Password
On balance, however, it remains an excellent display for every day, with optimal brightness in all situations, ideal for watching movies, reading, writing and using all the Apps to the fullest, with some limitations on meeting the requests of some more professional applications, such as it's normal.
There is not even the Touch Bar, like the MacBook Pro without Touch Bar, a choice that certainly depends on cost reasons. A small problem for those who, like this writer, are accustomed to MacBook Pro 15 ″, also finding it interesting the evolution of the compatibility of the Touch biBar with the various Apps. The absence of this technology in a machine that is presumed to be popular increases doubts about the actual grip of the system. However, Apple says it is optimistic about the future of the innovative control system. He could prove it by bringing it, perhaps with a keyboard, to iMac and Mac Pro. This would definitely give the green light to a product that for now remains a beautiful but not very successful experiment.
In the new MacBook Air 2018 instead the Touch ID to which, in all honesty, you get used to in the blink of an eye, well before the Touch Bar, and to which it is really difficult to give up: comfortable, fast, precise and never intrusive, assisted by the T2 chip on board, which also participates in various other security operations of the Mac, it is a good step forward and demonstrates how the attention to privacy does not necessarily have to always submit to the inconvenience of use. With Touch ID it is also possible to use Apple Pay, a small vision of an increasingly widespread and probable future.
Finally there is the new keyboard, the same as the MacBook Pro that often shines even if someone disputes its accuracy and response.For our part, we can certainly say that we need to get our hands on it but after a few hours it becomes completely natural. Excellent Touchpad, also inherited from the older brothers, larger and more spacious. Keyboard and Touchpad are a combo that has few rivals in the market.
The display of the MacBook Air, although less capable than that of the Pro, is still capable of handling almost everything sRGB
Mid-range
When Apple launched the first MacBook Air, in 2008, power was not a problem because the Air was a product that favored lightness and immediacy, certainly not brute strength.
Today Air is in an unprecedented market segment compared to forecasts: on the one hand there are the 2018 iPad Pro, on the other the MacBook Pro while this MacBook Air 2018 is increasingly the computer for those who already have an iMac or a Mac mini and wants a support machine for mobility, which for many reasons (but above all because of macOS) cannot be an iPad Pro and for reasons of weight or budget cannot be a MacBook Pro.
In this context, the MacBook Air offers something all in all balanced in terms of power and autonomy. The model we tested has an i5 processor at 1.60 Ghz of category Y, intended for very low consumption, 8GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal SSD, with integrated Intel UHD 617 video card. A machine that in the benchmarks (3703 a single core, 7351 multicore and 20943 in OpenCL the data detected by Geekbench 4) are substantially 10/15% higher than a 2013 MacBook Pro from 13 “with 2.4 GHz i5 processor (previous generation) and not comparable to those of a current MacBook Pro.
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However, above all thanks to a very fast SSD (1155 in writing and 2072 in reading the AJA System test data) we can make the most of all the macOS Apps, including Safari, iTunes, iMovie, Pages and Keynote and many others in common use. such as Office 2019, Adobe InDesign CC, Photoshop CC, Parallels Desktop, Adobe Premiere Rush CC, VLC, Plex and QuarkXPress 2018.
We agree with the first considerations we made some time ago regarding the first tests carried out: the power could be higher but in the end what emerges from this machine is a sense of balance, given on the one hand by a weighted power for the price range. , on the other hand by a hardware that has a long autonomy compared to a MacBook Pro, probably due to the power gap.
Too bad for the choice, forced, of a single choice for the processor (Intel Core dual-core i5 dual-core at 1.6GHz of the eighth generation, with Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) when it would have been much more interesting to have a configuration more thrust on request.
Thunderbolt 3
Finally we could say: the choice of opting for Thunderbolt 3 connections even on a non-Pro range Mac (as was done for the Mac mini) is happy for a variety of reasons.
First of all, full compatibility with USB-C offers the possibility of connecting a multitude of devices, thanks to all the adapters on the market today: two ports are not many but they are enough, and they also offer the same shape and distance as the pro models, therefore it is also possible to connect models such as the QacQoc GN28K.
The QacQoc GN28K Hideaway USB-C Adapter: Designed for MacBook Pro, it's perfect also for MacBook Air
Those who complain about the lack of USB-A ports may also be right (they are still very practical and widespread) however we remember that a USB-A can hardly be multiplied into multiple ports, while a Thunderbolt 3 connector can accommodate up to three USB ports- A (you're for this Mac, given the two connectors) with no external power supply. For an in-depth analysis of USB-C technology and the reasons for Apple's choices, we bring the readers back to our in-depth analysis.
Finally, the Thunderbolt 3 ports allow those who want to connect to an external eGPU, like this one from Blackmagic, which elevates the power of the 2018 MacBook Air by a lot, thanks to the presence of a discrete video card and the software support given by macOS. This choice, now quite unusual for this market segment, could prove interesting over time, with eGPU costs destined to decline and increasingly flexible configurations, offering a second machine youth like this in two or three years, at a very low cost. .
Road test
We tried the MacBook Air 2018 on different environments: at home, in the office, in the Tram (where this piece is edited, thanks to iA Writer), in bed and at school with complete satisfaction. But let's be clear: in the days of the MacBook Pro 2018 test, the Mac had become the only machine, with the iMac temporarily placed in the attic, while in this case the MacBook Air was a second machine, albeit an exceptional one, with the 'iMac always ready on your desk.
MacBook Air 2018 may become the first but cchina, as well as the only one, if the tasks vary from Office to Safari / Firefox, from VLC to QuickTime, from Photos to iMovie, with some leaps to Parallels Desktop (here above all thanks to a very performing SSD).
But if you intend to use Applications such as Photoshop, Luminar, Premiere, Illustrator and development tools such as XCode, in a more than superficial way, then the difference with a MacBook Pro is likely to become more pronounced and obvious.
On the other hand, the consumption of the internal battery is modest and this is good news: in our tests the Mac always arrived quiet in the evening, even if from time to time the battery icon in the menu bar showed fluctuating values, recovering instantly when recalled to the order.
For the rest, we appreciated its lightness when traveling: the size of 13 ″ makes it fit into practically any backpack without problems and for those who, like myself, are used to a Pro, you can feel the difference on your shoulders.
The only flaw, the internal fan is heard more than the MacBook Pro and starts up more often, even in the absence of processor-heavy apps like Photoshop or Premiere: nothing unbearable, and often for very short periods, but who has used a MacBook Pro will certainly notice this aspect
Considerations
Taken by itself, the MacBook Air 2018 is an excellent machine with a correct price, which in fact retires both the previous version (which remains on the list but with honestly dated features even for the softer palates) but that for sure versi runs the risk of overshadowing the 12 ″ MacBook, which remains more expensive and lighter, but with less features on paper.
However, considering the Apple price list, we also see in this machine a real alter ego to the MacBook Pro 13 ″ without Touch Bar, which costs about 200 Euros more and is a bit heavier, with a slightly older video card even if with more processor power and more capable screen.
Thanks to Mojave's Dark mode and black edges, the MacBook screen Air looks much bigger
A good fight, over which a choice of style rather than technical will surely win, which for this Mac profile is often secondary: in the review of the MacBook Pro 15 “we complained about the lack, in the Apple list, of an intermediate model and we were , in part, rewarded with this 13 “Air (which with a 15” display would have responded correctly to our needs).
Now Apple has three machines on the list (MacBook 12 “, MacBook Air 13” and MacBook Pro 13 “without Touch Bar) which, in part and in an unusual way, overlap and which, most likely, we will see better redefined in 2019 at least in the models older, but with a very complex choice that can only please the user who in this way can understand which model fully corresponds to their needs, without having to compromise too much.
Pro : • A right balance between power, battery and design • Very interesting and versatile Thunderbolt 3 ports • Retina screen
Against: • A higher power model is missing • The use of the fan is more frequent than in the Pro
Price:
• MacBook Air 13 “, Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD 1.379,00 Euro • MacBook Air 13”, Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD 1.629,00 Euro • MacBook Air 13 “, Intel Core i5, 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD 1,869.00 Euros • MacBook Air 13 ″, Intel Core i5, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD 2,119.00 Euros • MacBook Air 13 ″, Intel Core i5, 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD 3,119.00 Euros • MacBook Air 13 ″ (previous), Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD 1.129,00 Euro
The new MacBook Air 2018 can be bought on the Apple Store online with shipping in one day. In this article you will find everything you need to know about the new MacBook Air 2018.
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